God of Carnage

Sarah Orenstein, Tony Nappo, John Bourgeois & Linda Kash. Photo credit: Josie Di Luzio.

Parenting is a tough gig, especially when it comes to dealing with other parents, as is hilariously demonstrated in French playwright Yasmina Reza’s cutthroat comedy God of Carnage, a Tony and Laurence Olivier Award-winning play now on stage for a limited run at the Panasonic Theatre.

Presented as part of the Off-Mirvish Series, Studio 180’s current production hits the mark with a strong Canadian cast performing under the steady hand of director Joel Greenberg. The story unfolds in the living room of an average middle-class couple: Michael (Tony Nappo) and Veronica (Linda Kash) meet with another couple, Alan (John Bourgeois) and Annette (Sarah Orenstein) to discuss a violent schoolyard incident involving their children.

Over the course of 90 minutes, these so-called grown-ups are reduced to juvenile behaviour as polite social graces are stripped away to reveal the savage humanity that burns just beneath the surface. Fast-paced, brutally honest and shockingly funny, this bare-faced battle confronts everything from different views on parenting, to gender politics and taste in floral arrangements. Add a little booze to the fire and things get downright explosive. In the end, no one, not even the self-righteously caring human rights author Veronica (played brilliantly by Kash) comes out smelling of roses—which is precisely what makes this show so very relatable and entertaining.

Don’t miss your chance to see a good stage fight.

God of Carnage runs until December 15 at the Panasonic Theatre. Visit mirvish.com for more information and to buy tickets.